Supply chain as a career choice: a millennial's view

Posted by Beth Barling, Research Director, SCM World

For Penn State University graduate Leah Virbitsky, a career in supply chain may well have been on the cards before she was even born. With childhood memories of riding on a forklift with her father in the warehouse where he worked, and her mother working for an international logistics company, growing up around two influential supply chain role models perhaps made for an inevitable career choice.

In a recent conversation with SCM World, Leah talked about her decision to study supply chain at Penn State University, her experiences there, what the future now holds for her following her recent graduation, her plans to develop her own supply chain career and her views on what needs to be done to promote supply chain within the US education system.    

Welcome, Leah. It sounds like you had a lot of exposure to supply chain growing up. How big an influence was your family in your decision to study supply chain at Penn State?  

Yes, it all started with my family. Seeing what my father did for a living, working in the family-owned salt business – getting to ride on the forklift with him – for me, supply chain actually meant something. As a buyer for an international logistics company, I also saw my mother dealing with people all around the globe, and I liked that aspect of it.

When I was at high school, I wanted to work in pathology or supply chain – quite different! No-one else at school was really looking at supply chain. They didn’t know what it was; they looked at me as if I had two heads. In the end, I decided to go with supply chain and chose Penn State University as it has the top supply chain programme in the country. I also have five uncles who all graduated in Business Logistics from there, so they have to be doing something right!

What’s your view on supply chain as a field of study and career choice?

Supply chain has opened a big door for me. There are so many opportunities in supply chain, I don’t think people realise, especially young people. Supply chain is the new field of the future for millennials. It gives you the potential to work for many different companies around the world, but with a unifying base of knowledge.

The course at PSU and the internships I’ve done have already given me exposure to the range of opportunities available. As part of my degree I got to spend eight months working full time at Johnson & Johnson. I worked in Supply Logistics within the Consumer Products division. We were looking at inventory allocation problems for a variety of consumer products, with a view to optimising volumes across the entire retail customer base to manage shortages, forecasting issues and logistics accuracy. It was really satisfying to uncover the root causes behind the problems and then develop a new product allocation process which ended up raising consumption to 75%.

I also spent nine months in total at Altria, first working as a procurement intern, and then as a marketing incentives purchasing intern. Those roles gave me exposure to real-life procurement activities, including performing basic risk assessments on suppliers and commodities, evaluating contract tools and methods, and learning the basics of warehousing strategy.

What aspects of supply chain have interested you the most so far?

Right now, I really enjoy procurement – it gives you the visibility into all the materials that make a product, and provides the history and context to everything we buy and use every day. Take Hershey’s as an example. I’m fascinated by what it takes to make something like a Hershey’s Kiss. When you really take a look and see what it’s made up of – the cocoa bean, sugar, the foil it’s wrapped in – and where that all comes from, and then how it’s actually made and moved to the customer. That whole process totally fascinates me.

The classes at PSU really intrigued me. The professor for that class, Sue Purdum, was awesome – she made it really inspiring. She delved into different concepts, and brought companies in to speak to us. She didn’t lecture us; she wanted to engage us. The class was at 8am but I never missed one!

Have you had any other role models – other than your family – who inspired you?

I joined an organisation called “Penn State Women in Business”. It was the best decision I ever made. The President at the time was a supply chain major. She took me under her wing and mentored me – she was someone I aspired to be. She now works in supply chain for Exxon Mobil in Louisiana. I later became Communications Director and then President of the group myself.

As a woman in supply chain, what are your experiences so far from a gender equality perspective?

When I started at Penn State, supply chain was very popular and definitely a mainstream subject. But there were certainly a lot more men on the course than women. By the time I graduated, it was just starting to equalise – 50% males, 50% females. I think women were starting to realise what kind of opportunities supply chain can actually offer – and also that there are a lot of companies hiring supply chain graduates now.

You recently graduated with a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Supply Chain & Information Systems AND a Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations from Penn State. What’s your next step?

I’ve been offered a role in Risk Advisory with Ernst & Young, starting in July. I narrowed my job search down to either consulting or supply chain. I decided to go into consulting so I can gain exposure across industries and find out what I’m passionate about, and then go back into supply chain later on. At first, I was worried about supply chain employers putting me aside because I’m going to work in consulting, but now is the best time to do it – I don’t have kids and I’m not tied down, so I can travel and get more experience to take into supply chain practitioner roles in the future.

I wanted to find a company that would help me grow, particularly in terms of leadership and other professional skills. I first got to know Ernst & Young through clubs and classes at PSU. The biggest thing was the people and how I connected with them, so when the time came to look for a job, they naturally appealed to me. Throughout the interview process, they were so gracious and took care of everyone. I know that with Ernst & Young I’m going to keep growing and learning.

What do you think your background in supply chain will bring to the role at Ernst & Young, compared to a more broad-stroke business degree?

To solve clients’ problems, you need to think differently, to think in terms of analytics and the holistic impact. My experience so far in supply chain means that I can come in with a different mindset. Having a PR major also helps me articulate things well. I’ll certainly be blending the two things together.

Would you recommend studying supply chain to other young people?

Absolutely. I couldn’t be more excited to go into this field. My younger cousin is a freshman in college and I’ve definitely recommended that she takes the operations major available at her college. The problem is that at some high schools, the kids don’t really know what supply chain is, so they don’t even know it’s available as an option.

What do you think could be done about that?

The key is for kids to understand what it is. For example, PSU works closely with a local high school: they run a supply chain class so that the kids can find out more. This helps them, and also helps to funnel students into the college. Now at Penn State, supply chain is common knowledge.

Thank you, Leah, and best wishes for your career!